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Friday, June 30, 2017

If You Want to Find Me, Come To Africa

Yeyeolade sent you this article on the Huffington Post. Here's what they said:

Back to Africa oooo!-"If You Want to Find Me,Come to Africa!"-from Huffpost.com


If You Want to Find Me, Come To Africa
If you want to find me. Come to Africa. Flights may be expensive ― much more expensive than my life in America. My life in America is deemed cheap...

Read the entire article here: 1http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/if-you-want-to-find-me-come-to-africa_us_57e3ca66e4b00267764fba1d

If You Want to Find Me, Come To Africa

Not once have I had to say, “Hands up don’t shoot,” – in Africa.

09/22/2016 08:15 am ET | Updated Sep 25, 2016
If you want to find me.
Come to Africa.
Flights may be expensive ― much more expensive than my life in America. My life in America is deemed cheap. Yes, I am a black man, a big African man. Menacing to some – an eternal suspect too many. Yes, my life is cheap in America. So are my sons and my daughters.
I had to get out. We had to get out
I have yet to sit in the back of a police car in Africa; not in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, Gambia, Nigeria or Namibia. Not once have I had to say, “Hands up don’t shoot,” –  in Africa. Dogs have yet to enter my car, looking for “drugs,” as was a frequent occurrence in America. Things are far from perfect in Africa, with 54 countries and varying cultures, traditions, languages, and countless challenges. However, I am not seen as a constant threat in Africa. Maybe my idealism, leads me to believe that even if I am not a “citizen” in Africa, I can still be a human; where I can chart my own destiny without the color of my skin being an impediment to my progress. This is my experience my destiny. Yes there are some who board rickety boats with a hope to leave Africa and chart their course of life elsewhere; but not me. My future is intrinsically tied to this continent where I have found liberation. I have been liberated from the shackles of being a Black man, an African man, in America.
I had to leave a country that does not understand my pain, my promise, and my potential. March they say. Protest they say. Vote they say – if you want to see change in America, you have to be that change. Not me ― I am tired of the illusion of equality, an illusion of color blindness, an artifice of democracy, a delusion of justice, and an illusion of freedom. Struggles I can handle, Struggle I embrace – but I had grown tired of struggling in America for the most basic of rights; most specifically, the right to not always be viewed as a threat, or a suspect, by a system that was and is, in constant fear of my blackness.
Some say, but you have a Black President in America – and “Change We Can Believe In.” However, I opted to put my trust in many Black Presidents. I have Geingob, Kenyatta, Mugabe, Zuma, Jammeh, Thabane, Sirleaf, Mahama and more. We also have Kings and Prime Ministers, who may not be perfect, and some better than others. But I will take my chances. The Change I can believe in – is right here, in Africa.
I have yet to be called a nigger or a nigga in Africa; except by say, a few hip hop kids who have listened to one to many rap albums. I have yet to be treated with suspicion because of the color of my skin in Africa. I have yet to be a statistic in Africa, compared to hundreds of thousands of black men locked up in a prison industrial complex in America. In these prison industrial complexes, where I worked – I found young and old, black, brown and white, languishing without hope, without a chance for redemption.
Civil war, crime, violence, disease, and corruption they say – is what is found in Africa. Have they visited, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C, or my hometown of Cleveland, where there, and in most cities and small towns; it’s easier to get a gun than it is to get healthcare. Where violence and lawlessness has created an environment where even a 12 year old boy can’t play outside without getting shot by a cop; or where a young girl can’t walk to school without being shot by rival gangs with poor aim; or where a young man can’t walk with a hoodie, without being deemed a suspect; and murdered by a hooligan vigilante?
If you want to find me - come to Africa.
#SayMyName Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Eric Harris, Phillip White, Tony Robinson, Jerame Reid, Rumain Brisbon, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley, Tanisha Anderson, Dante Parker, Ezell Ford, Michael Brown Jr., Trayvon Martin, John Crawford III, Eric Garner, Dontre Hamilton, Amaadou Diallo, Sandra Bland, Manuel Loggins Jr, Ronald Madison. Kendra James, Sean Bell, Alton Sterling, Christian Taylor, Ramarley Graham, Philando Castile, Terence Crutcher.
I have not forgotten the struggles of my people, friends, family, and ancestors in America.
However,
If you want to find me ― come to Africa.
Brian Wheeler is originally from Cleveland Ohio. He moved from Ohio to the Africa in 2009, first stop was Kenya. He is a development professional, entrepreneur and writer currently based in Windhoek Namibia.

Friday, June 23, 2017

BLACK PEOPLE OOO!-BACK TO AFRICA OOOO!-"WHY THIS BLACK AMERICAN MOVED TO AFRICA AT 50 AND NEVER LOOKED BACK"-"I DON'T LIKE AMERICA. I LOVE AFRICA"-FROM HUFFINGTON POST

FROM HUFFINGTON POST



BLACK VOICES

Why This Black American Moved To Africa At 50 And Never Looked Back

“I don’t like America. I love Africa.”


At 50 years old, Imahkus Okofu left New York City for Ghana, West Africa, and never returned. 
In the video segment above shot for the BBC in November, Okofu admits that as a native New Yorker, she had never had any desire to visit the continent of Africa, let alone live in one of its countries. 
“I didn’t want to be no African,” Okufu says.
“The pictures that the media painted of Africa, the only Africa saw was Tarzan and Jane... Would you want to come to Africa? I didn’t want to come to Africa at all, because there was nothing good that was told to us about Africa.”
But Okufu, who has now lived in Ghana for 25 years, has seen another side of the continent. The shift came after a trip to Elmina Castle in Cape Coast, where African slaves were held before being transported along the Middle Passage to the Americas.
“[I went into the women’s dungeon], and as I stood there... I remember being terrified,” Okufu explains. “Gradually, I could feel people touching me, soothing me, saying, ‘It’s alright. You’re home. You’re safe. Welcome back...’ I knew then that Ghana was going to be my home.”
After her experience, Okufu and her husband packed up their belongings, sold what they couldn’t sell, and moved to Ghana in 1990. Okufu’s story mirrors that of many African-Americans who have traveled or made the move back to Africa in an effort to better connect with their roots and ancestry. While Okufu emphasizes the fact that Africa isn’t perfect, she also insists that life in Africa isn’t as much of a struggle as it was in America. 
“I don’t like America,” the expat says. “I love Africa.”

Saturday, June 10, 2017

BLEACHING OOOO!-BLACKS DON'T BLEACH AND DIE BEFORE YOUR TIME!-"GET LIGHT OR DIE TRYING"-BY DR.YABA BLAY ON YABABLAY.COM



FROM YABABLAY.COM



Last week’s post “Skin Bleaching, Self-Hatred and Colonial Mentality” generated LOTS of conversation on the web. What is surprising to me is the fact that many people have never heard of skin bleaching. Borrowing from my research on skin bleaching in Ghana, this week’s post “Get Light or Die Trying” is a brief introduction of sorts to the global phenomenon…

In November 1997, a 58-year old retired female clerical worker presented to the Dermatology Outpatient Clinic of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana “with complaints of dark patches on light-exposed areas of the face, arms, neck, hands, legs and feet of about 10 years duration” as well as a large fungating ulcer on the right side of her neck. Despite a continuous regime of treatment spanning the course of 14 months, her condition failed to improve. In February 1999, the patient died. The cause of death — sun-related squamous cell carcinoma with pulmonary metastasis precipitated by the habitual application of hydroquinone and later steroid-containing creams. Translated – this Ghanaian woman’s death was caused by a type of skin cancer, which later spread to her lungs, and was attributed to her ritual practice of skin bleaching for more than 20 years of her adult life.
female clerical worker2
(Addo, 2000, 144)

In May 2001, Ghanaian boxing fans watched as veteran boxer Percy Oblitei Commey’s skin literally fell apart. The Ghana Review International reported that early in the fourth round, his opponent, Smith Odoom, delivered a series of punches to Commey’s face, opening a deep cut on his right cheek.  As the fight progressed, Commey suffered similar cuts in both nostrils and his right ear, causing him to bleed profusely. By the seventh round, Commey’s cornermen and ringside doctors attempted to give the boxer medical attention but found that they could not suture the wounds – his skin was disastrously thin. Not only did Commey lose his national super-featherweight belt, but his “dark” secret had been exposed: Commey had habitually bleached his skin. Twice a day, he followed a regimen that included steroid soap, a lightening shampoo, and two hydroquinone creams.  The once popular 6’4” boxer was booed by fans and subsequently became the object of media ridicule, reportedly because of his “feminine look.” Commey would enter the ring only once more, three years later.

percy3
(Chisholm, 2002)

While the death of the retired female clerical worker and the imagery conjured by the mention of Commey’s injuries are indeed disturbing to say the least, theirs are not isolated incidents. According to a 2005 Ghana Health Service report, approximately 30% of Ghanaian women and 5% of Ghanaian men are “currently actively bleaching.”
The incidence of skin bleaching – the intentional alteration of one’s natural skin color to one relatively, if not substantially, lighter in color, through the use of chemical skin lightening agents, either manufactured, homemade, or any combination of the two – has been well documented in Africa. In some parts of the continent, bleaching is nothing less than a way of life. An estimated:
  • Seventy five percent of traders in Lagos, Nigeria (2002)
  • 52% of the population in Dakar, Senegal, 35% in Pretoria, South Africa (2004)
  • 50% of the female population in Bamako, Mali (2000)
  • 8 out of 10 seemingly light-skinned women in Cote d’Ivoire (1998)
  • 60% of Zambian women ages 30 – 39 (2005)
  • 50 -60% of adult Ghanaian women
currently or have at one time or other actively used skin bleaching agents. Nigeria now holds the title of “Number 1 for Skin Bleaching Products” by the World Health Organization.
Though my research focuses on skin bleaching in Africa, the practice is not specific to Africa or people of African descent for that matter. In fact, wherever we find people of color, so too do we find the practice of skin bleaching. And throughout the world, the practice disproportionately affects female populations.
In parts of South Asia, where many parents advise their children to avoid sunlight because flawlessly milky white skin is coveted, cosmetic whiteners are indispensable in everyday skincare.  According to a 2003 report, 38% of women in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines use whitening products, and 43% of the women surveyed “believed a fair complexion would make them more attractive to men.” Asian women reportedly spend exorbitant amounts of money to buy high-end bleaching products such as those manufactured by L’oreal, the largest cosmetics company in the world, and the leading European manufacturer of skin whitening products.

White-Perfect-BLOGGER-CAMPAIGN-VISUAL-copy

Similarly, in India, where “60 percent of all beauty products sold are skin lightening agents,” skin tone impacts both marriage marketability and the ability to gain white-collar employment. All-purpose skin bleaching products are marketed frequently and aggressively…


…but so are products geared for specific areas, like the underarms…


…and more ‘intimate’ areas…


What’s interesting about India is that it is one of the few places where men’s bleaching does not hold the same stigma as it does elsewhere in the world. In many other places, men who bleach are regarded effeminate for taking part in something that is regarded a woman’s practice. But in India, skin bleaching is practiced openly by both men and women. To preserve their masculinity, however, Indian men are expected to use their own products, and not those made for women; at least that’s way that Fair and Handsome, is India’s #1 whitening cream designed specifically for men, spins it. In addition to print advertisements, it broadcasts a number of television commercials not only in India, but in the UK as well.


Interestingly enough, in 2010, when Vaseline launched a skin whitening app for Facebook, specifically for India, it was the image of a man that was used. Using this application, Facebookers can manipulate their photos so that they can appear whiter than they actually are. According to Vaseline, the response has been “pretty phenomenal.”

vaseline_skinwhite_e__oPt vaseline-e1279204421864

Despite the global presence of regulatory boards comparable to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the skin lightening products marketed, sold, and used across the world are more chemically potent than those marketed, sold, and used here in the United States. In the U.S., hydroquinone, one of the active agents found in skin-bleaching creams, cannot be obtained in percentages above 2% without a prescription; and by prescription, the highest percentage legally available is 4%. The manufactured skin bleaches found in many parts of Africa contain potentially lethal doses of substances like hydroquinone (between 4% and 25%), corticosteroids, mercury iodide, and various additional caustic agents. When exposed to sunlight, a staple in most parts of Africa, these chemicals prove even more hazardous.
Contact with these agents can cause a wide array of opportunistic infections and skin disorders, including allergies, ulcers and ultimately skin cancer or leukemia in some cases…..people who bleach become so thin-skinned they’re unable to receive injections and other routine medical procedures including stitching following surgery or accidents. In extreme cases, mercury and metals are absorbed at such a level that brain and kidney damage occurs, sometimes resulting in death. Withdrawal from the corticosteroids can lead to shock, which can be fatal (emphasis mine, McKinley, 2001, 96).
In the absence of manufactured products, many people use homemade admixtures. Some mix both manufactured and homemade products for a more potent brew. And yet despite the ravaging effects of both homemade and manufactured products, many people continue to bleach, some to the point of death. Governmental and medical authorities’ attempts to abolish skin bleaching by controlling the dosage and availability of manufactured bleaching agents fail to address people’s continued need to use the products. Even if legislative bans on bleaching agents were to be fully enforced, such efforts would only serve to minimize the incidence or more likely force it underground, not eradicate it. For in the minds of many, the privileges assigned to light skin, whether actual or assumed, are worth dying for.

Sources:
Addo, H.A. (2000). Squamous Cell Carcinoma Associated with Prolonged Bleaching. Ghana Medical Journal, 34, 144-146.
Chisholm, N.J. (2002, January 22). Fade to White: Skin Bleaching and the Rejection of Blackness.
McKinley, C. (2001, May).Yellow Fever. Honey Magazine, 96-99.

See also:
Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy: By Way of Introduction

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Comments

14 Comments
Post a comment
  1. Tina #
    January 11, 2013
    Very enlightening. It’s rather unfortunate how the opinion of others etc push people to such ends.
    • Yaba #
      January 11, 2013
      Indeed! White supremacy is the biggest ‘opinion-pusher’ of them all. Thank you for reading, Tina!
  2. April 25, 2013
    Thanks Dr. Yaba
    • Yaba #
      April 25, 2013
      Thank you for reading, Fatou!
  3. April 26, 2013
    informative! You should see what’s happening in The Gambia…maybe you should look into that too Dr. Yaba. I saw the statistics about Senegal, I wonder what are the numbers for Gambia?
    • Yaba #
      April 29, 2013
      It’s everywhere! I haven’t seen the numbers in Gambia and I’m not sure who is doing that research. Will keep my eyes open. Thank you for reading, Aisha!
  4. Richard Henry #
    May 19, 2013
    Thanks for the info and data on skin bleaching in Africa. I have been following your work and needed data and literature on skin bleaching in Africa for my Lit Review. Completing my Masters thesis on skin bleaching in Jamaica. Its a qualitative study entitled “The Browning Phenomenon”
    • Yaba #
      May 20, 2013
      Thanks for reading, Richard! Please let me know if I can share any resources with you. You must of course be familiar with Christopher Charles’ work. I look forward to reading your thesis soon!
  5. marie sanders #
    July 29, 2013
    I found these articles very interesting. I was born very light skin & was teased throughout school. Only other races would play with me. So I tried to suntan myself black. Confusion set in. I messed skin up trying to be “black” and last year I was using bleach crime to over correct the damage I did. I would try to change my color by friends, jobs, advantages. Now all I want to be is me no matter what color. I would very much like to read more on the subject. I feel society makes us choose what color we should be at times. I hate that. But most of my life I have battled this. Thank you for writing on this project. It really made me mad at myself.
  6. September 5, 2013
    Everyone has their own reasons for having white skin, smooth, clean. Certainly have been described in the article above, that it skin disease is not come by itself but because of the wrong skin care.
    There is also damage to the skin caused by cosmetic skin itself. Therefore, if you want to pick look at the measure of beauty products use ingredients that beauty, so that we remain untreated skin.
  7. January 15, 2014
    Harrowing and heartwrenching: I am a dark chocolate brown (similiar to the First Lady Michelle Obama’s shade) and cannot imagine being fueled by such societal pressures and such self-loathing that I would sabotage my own skin tone. I take pride in it and also convey that message to my children, I hope future generations learn from those who suffered and died needlessly and love what they are naturally endowed with: melanin-rich and beautifully brown skin.
  8. Aisha Ellis #
    January 17, 2014
    Colonization has been a devastating cancer all over the world, it’s time to unlearn what we have learned and put truth in it’s place.

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Maafanta.com | Women of Substance » Get Light or Die Trying
  2. Talking Her Out of Skin Bleaching Won’t Work | Afrocentric Confessions



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BLACK SKINNED BEAUTY SUPREME OOOO!-FROM DARKSKINNED WOMEN<3 ON FACEBOOK

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BACK TO AFRICA:SPIRITUALLY,CULTURALLY,MORALLY AND PHYSICALLY!

Friday, June 09, 2017

BLEACHING IS RACIAL SUICIDE OOO!-- BLACKS–FIGHT BLEACHING LIKE THIS SISTER OOOO!-FROM MENAYE IDEAS ON WORDPRESS

FROM MENAYE IDEAS ON WORDPRESS

BLACKS–FIGHT BLEACHING LIKE THIS SISTER OOOO!-FROM MENAYE IDEAS ON WORDPRESS


BLACK IS LIT

A poem to support Sarah Nana Adwoa Safowaa, face of kasu 2016, in her campaign against skin bleaching

She’s bold
She’s beautiful
She can hold
She’s not shameful
She’s neither fearful

He’s not white
Yet he’s bright
He signifies authenticity
And portrays purity
A great masterpiece

He and she
Are you and me
True beauty tree
Africans, be proud to be
The never ordinary we

Others made us feel inferior
Telling us we are dark
Trying to supress us from being superior
Supremacy, always our hallmark
We’re the originals

We’re bold as letter B
Simple as letter L
We always come first like A
We’re conquerers, ask letter C
We’re royals from the great King K

We’re blacks
The originals
God’s own people
Always capable
Of the impossible

Don’t change your skin
You may regret you did
It gives you protection
And unique identification
Keep it pure, no denaturation

They always said the sun was too hot
Blacks have the most of it
But It makes us glow bright
The world, we illuminate
Because we occupy the best part of it

To the world, we’re the light
We won’t claim it with a fight
We’ve got that dignity since our birth night
Black is not white
Black is lit

Black is lit
Do not bleach
Black is lit
With varying intensities
Black is lit

By Akua Menaye Safo
Photocredit :pinterest.com & nkdesigns


Thursday, June 08, 2017

BLACK MEN,BLACK WOMEN TOGETHER FOREVER OOOO!-FROM FACEBOOK

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BACK TO AFRICA:SPIRITUALLY,CULTURALLY,MORALLY AND PHYSICALLY!